Licensed under Creative Commons from blueoxen (Flickr)
Last year instead of a New Year’s Resolution, I opted to select a themeword for the year. After all, four out of five of the 100 million Americans who made a resolution last week will break them. If you think that’s bad, nearly a third won’t make it to the Super Bowl before caving. As you may recall, the concept for selecting a themeword came from HorsePigCow a couple years back. For 2010, I selected FOCUS as my themeword. When I selected it I wanted to refocus my energy on becoming a better DBA, more active in my professional network, and being a better husband and father. Little did I know that when I said I wanted to focus on becoming a better DBA that I would become the lead DBA on a large healthcare project in the public sector. I wish I could have been more active in my professional network and attended at least one event but with my responsibilities before and after my career changes kept me away. Suffice it to say my aspirations of being a better husband and parent will always be areas that need focus. Let’s be honest, if being a good spouse was easy divorce would not be so prevalent and Bill Cosby wouldn’t have any material for his book Fatherhood.
In thinking about my themeword for 2011, I wanted to chose something that fosters fortitude. 2010 ended with me placing myself outside of my comfort zone and the stresses of becoming an independent consultant and putting myself in a role that has a wealth of opportunity for growth. There are so many things that I think I need to do in order to lay the foundation necessary to succeed as an independent. I wrestled with BALANCE, DISCIPLINE, and GROW for a while. But while each of them have merit in their own right, they didn’t carry the weight I felt I needed for the upcoming year.
My themeword for 2011 is ACHIEVE.
What is your #themeword?
How to Pick Your #ThemeWord for 2010
- Think of a word that reflects your hopes and dreams for 2010.
- Share your themeword with friends on Twitter, Facebook, or Your Blog.
- Be sure and use the hashtag #themeword.
Sleep.
After 2010 you deserve a chance to catch up on some rest and relaxation. But you are approaching the tipping point on something bigger and better. SLEEP is not your themeword for 2011, Mr. Simon. REAP might be a better choice.
umm Health sorry!
Thanks for commenting Doug. You’re right, 2010 was not a kind year to your well being. So here is to a healthy 20011 for you and your family!
SHIP!!!! ( as a verb, not a noun
What are we shipping, Joe?